anyone used their preps?

I've had several instances of my preps becoming invaluable. One was a major road being out by a flood and the other was chronic unemployment. Just wondering if anyone else had similar experiences, and what they learned from them. My neighbors have had major problems with lack of food in even a couple days where we have had enough snow to prohibit them from leaving their home. Others lacked a saw to leave because of fallen trees. Iv'e been lucky or whatnot, But several times just having extra food and fuel has made the difference between being comfortable and having to rely on friends or family. When unemployed I At least didn't have to worry about food, maybe I didn't eat like a king but my belly was full, and I wasn't a drain on social services. Anyway just my 2cents

 

Yep.
In 2008, after a one-two punch of hurricanes knocked all Gulf oil rigs and refineries offline, gasoline stations driedup, with no resupply - affected the entire southeast. Car drivers were constantly foraging for fuel. I had 25 gallons stored and my motorcycle was my only transportation then. I weathered the shortage well.
During periods of "too much month at the end of the money", I have dipped into the food stocks a bit, then replenished when I had the money.
During the transition period moving from one (rental) house to my new property, the new place wasn't ready yet, and I stayed in the old house without power or water for a week. Used my stored water, food and lanterns. Sort of 'cmping inhouse'! Worked okay.

 

We've dipped into ours a bit since I quit getting a regular paycheck. I've been enjoying my daily cup of smug when the Mr says we're out of something and I say no, look in XXX and not only are we not out but we have several cans/cases/bottles of the item in question.

I sold a story the other day, planning to use the check to restock what we've used.. The only adjustment I intend to make is adding more powdered milk. We go through a lot more milk than I really accounted for. I get Peak powdered whole milk online and always considered it kind of a nuisance purchase so I only had a few cans on hand. Fixing to remedy that.

In other, semi-related news, Carnation canned evap milk is still great 9 months past it's expiration date when kept in normal room temperature. Which is good, because I had a bunch in one of my Mr-Doesn't-Know-About hidey-holes that I forgot about and they're all pretty out of date.

 

i test out all my equipment when i get it in. Well except for my vest lol. What good is having a tent in an emergency if you cant set it up in the rain or snow. The only one time i really needed my preps was the ice storm that hit new england a few years ago. I actually put in a wood stove that weekend so the heat was nice. When everyone else was going to families houses, i was able to stay at home to a nice warm fire. Also i stored a good amount of water that came in handy for cooking, (cooked on the stove) and for cleaning up. I not seperate my drinking water and have some other water that isnt filtered for toilets and dishes.


good thread by the way, im curious to see how other people used their stuff and if they noticed they didnt have something or enough of something

 

Like you SP I test out EVERYTHING that I have. I have used most of my preps on hiking trips in West Virginia, at the range, or in the home. I have not been prepping very long though and have no run into any TRUE reason to use anything yet.

 

Yeppers. BTDT.
Just about every year we get hit with power outage for anywhere from several hours to days. So we get to practice the 'grid down'
Was unemployed a few years back with nothing but 6mos mortgage money. Able to eat, and stay clean for the entire time w/o having to go to the store. But that really did hammer into the supplies. Still trying to rebuild that buffer.
Recent family emergency, too far to pay day, no money in the bank. PM's to the rescue. Was able to be there for my family during tragedy, provide for my needs and those of less fortunate without having to go into debt.

So, living what you prepare for is the way I roll.

 

With the exception of things like MRE's, the 20 shoe boxes full of candles, and stuff like that, we use our preps as part of our daily lives.
It is my opinion that the best way to prep is to prep for your daily life.
We all know preps are the things that keep us going. Food, water, shelter, protection, clothing, and tools to be self sufficient. Dont just buy stuff and put it away for a rainy day...use it in your daily life. We have cast iron cookware so we can cook food on fire. Well, cast works on the stove as well. During the week we use our cast on the stove but on weekends when there is more time, all cooking is done on fire.
We all know that food preps need to be rotated on a FIFO (first in first out) basis. To that extent, we stock items we use every day. Think mac-n-cheese is easy to make? Try it on cast iron on an open flame. It is different. I would rather know how to prepare it now when I can run down to dollar general and pick up 3 more boxes for a buck instead of learning that after the SHTF and there is no place to pick up more. Cook anything and everything you can think of and use different cooking methods. Invite friends over for a cookout and serve up a pot luck style dinner of all kinds of items cooked on cast iron pans, dutch ovens, and enameled steel fry pans. Then if you need to dip into your preps, you and your family will not notice the difference.
In my case, my house is one giant prep. For example, I have a hand dug well in my basement that has been producing water for over 100 years. I have an electric pump hooked up to it but if electric fails, I have a high volume hand pump on a bypass that will fill the pressure tank. I can take a shower on the second floor of my house without any electricity. Of course the water is colder than a witches tit in a brass bra but it is water from the tap and it's clean.
We have bolts and bolts of fabric plus a woman down the road that spins yarn. My wife and I both know how to sew and she knows how to knit. Clothing will always be available and I am the proud owner of many hand made articles of clothing like Osnaburg shirts, pillow ticking bib overalls, and wool vests and coats (and my 5 point capote). Most of my cold weather clothes are made from my wife's sewing machine and we also know how to do that stuff by hand.
Protection....well, being lucky enough to be employed by a firearms manufacturer allows me the oppertunity to not only be the once proud owner of a fine firearms collection (lost everything in a terrible, terrible flood) but also the oppertunity to fire more rounds in one week than a lot of people I know do in a whole year. If I still had my fine collection I would be able to tell you about the wonderful meals I put on the table like Squirrels w/ red beans and rice thanks to a Ruger 77/22. Or the venison stew I would make after harvesting a deer with a CZ550 Varmint laminate in .308 or the quail I would take with my Winchester 1300 for baked quail cooked in a dutch oven with potatoes and carrots. Or better yet black bear steaks that I would have put on the table if I still had my TC chambered in 35Rem.
Of course having tools is great but you need to know how to use them. The best way to do that is to use them as much as possible. It is best to know what works and what doesnt long before yer preps are needed. That way when they are needed it is more like a party than a "situation".

I know I have shared this story before but I have to again. I smile and swell with pride every time I think about it.
Our area has been hit with 2 MAJOR floods within 5 years. During the most recent one I was very busy (I am a local assistant fire chief and EMS officer) due to the fact our town was cut off in all directions due to water inundation. During the SoE (state of emergency) I was a going between the North end of town and south end of town ensuring everyone was safe and all set. While I was doing all of this running around I went past the bridge in town (well above the floods) and noticed a trailer and vehicles with people all around. On my return trip through I pulled up to see what on earth was going on. My wife and a bunch of others decided to fire up the portable pit and cook a whole hog. Well, once everyone was set and accounted for, I opened up the Church so folks who couldnt get home and those unfortunate to have been flooded out would have a place to stay that was comfy and dry. That evening everyone feasted on pork, slaw, corn, potatoes, pies, lemonade, tea, and coffee. Afterwards we went to the pole barn and played guitar, harmonica, and a jaw harp while sippin a few drinks and enjoying each others company.

The best way to know you prepped well is to live off your preps. Use the modern conveniences like electricity for just that, convenience. Dont let it take the place of the skills you need when the lights no longer work.

 

Haven't had to use any stored food. But with power outages for several hours used weather crank radio. Crank lanterns, etc


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In 2008 I was self enployed and my world came unglude when the economy tanked. We lived for about 2 years on preps and what we grew in the garden. Beans and rice may get old but it beats going to bed hungry!!! Of course I would never do such a thing but from what I have head a box trap is invaluble for trapping in the heat of the summer because the animal won't die. A 22 lr will put a lot of meat on the table cheaply, you can not have too much.

OGM

 

We use some of each type of freeze dried foods. First we want to see if we like the stuff, second how well it fits in with our "normal" food, third how to reconstitute the stuff. These three reasons allow us to try another brand of freeze dried food X if necessary, allow our bodies to adjust to "new"foods, and different ways/methods of preparing these foods. All food preps are rotated oldest to newest in consumption. The only real PITA is keeping the inventory updated as stores are stored in many, various places.......
GB

 

in 09, we were in the middle of a move to a town 5 hours away, wife had a stroke, ended up in hospital for 5 months, daughter broke her arm,the kids and I had a major truck wreck ( wrote off our brand new sierra 2500) and then my Dad died back East.
all this within a span of about 4 months
I used every prep we had, money, food, insurance, and a good many favours and good friends got us the rest of the way.
I took a 3 week medical leave as directed by the doc and a weeks bereavement
We have been restocking since and have a long way to go, we made this move to be a little farther away from a major centre, but there are times when being in the major centre would have made life a lot easier on health care, shopping etc


I have to say though....it was my head game ( read FAITH ) that got me through it. the few preps we had made it a little more ....comfortable I guess is the right way to phrase it.
wrc223 nailed it with convenience

we need to make a lot more preps to actually survive a shtf scenario, but we're on the right track and making progress.
and..remarkably, we are all still here ( except Dad, but he was 82 ) to make it happen and I am very thankful for that.

 

I also try out all my new toys (I camp and hike alot as well as have numerous outages, Dont effect me except it takes a little longer to shower.) I wonder what people need they didn't have, want what they didn't have, or just wished they had. Short term I provided a neighbor with a 7 gal propane tank, 2 with radios, and towed several out.

 

We live by the FiFo rule around our home. Yesterday for lunch we had Potato (canned in 2009) and Bacon (canned in 2010) soup. Beats Campbell any day. When any new thing comes in, #1 daughter (only daughter) checks for damage and checks off against the packing list. Then Papa-san here field tests the gear. This became the family habit after we purchases some high end gear and did not check it. Finally after some months we got it out and found out that it was DOA. It had been damaged in shipping from the looks of things. Any way no warranty, no way to complain about the transport. Nada...Hard lesson learned.
Gafarmboy

 

I dug out the crank radio this weekend when we lost power. Also, I cook from our storage continually. Those foods that the family really likes, tells me to stock up extra. I noticed this weekend I was lacking enough water. We can alter the well but for short outages a few more gallons are necessary. We've decided to keep the bikes because gas could sky rocket and that will take less of our fuel reserve.

 

Ive been preppin almost a year, its a real learning experience. Im tring to stock up on stuff the kids like so were alaways dipping into stocks.
Im thinking of stocking up more on nuts, they fill your belly without cooking them. I notice food is going up all the time, and the news says its going to go up even moore.
The good thing about making making preps part of life is you can hold out on buying stuff until it goes on sale.

 

hello im a newby here but anyway .
i read "gafarmboy" say he got something and it was broke...Has anyone ever bought andthing from REI . i know they r expensive but i heard they guarantee everything and there return policy is great ...they will take anything back no matter what the condition is... to the extext of bying a good pair or shoes and taking them back worn out and getting knew ones for nothing ... Has anyone else ever had any experiences with this place....?

I always thought of it as a place "yuppies shopped to buy camping gear but not go camping" {like me buying running shoes" but i am finding out different....I dont mind paying good money for gear if it is going to last and espically if it is go to be guaranteed...

 

We eat what we store and store what we eat. No we don't live on rice, beans and spam...
Half the meats are in the freezer and the rest are pressure canned. Fresh veggies from the garden and a neighbor's farmstand we home can whatevers left at the end of the season.

I rotate out the gas every six months, so yeah I guess we use our preps just about every day.

 

I buy a lot of stuff at rei, good quality outdoor gear and their return policy is bomber. I had a softshell coat (rei brand) for 5+ years wore the s&^t out of it, zipper wore out and since I liked it I brought it back to them to see if they could repair it. I was thinking if it wasn't to expensive >30-40 I'd have it done, guy at counter told me we could, but just go find one simular, and replace it. Anyway I got a brand new coat same model off the clearance rack (same place I got the original at 100 bucks) went to the counter and ended up with a 50 dollar credit cause the Original cost of first coat was more.